Farewell, Halloween 2013

Halloween Victims: I wonder what pets think of their people dressing them up, painting them and making them look ridiculous. Not much I suspect If the pet owners do not think twice about such activities, maybe they should. When you look at those holiday e-mails of dressed up pets, don’t you think of what those poor animals had to go through, their discomfort and fear – or worse?

I guess my spirit has been broken by commercial enterprise as I was not the least bit moved one way or the other to find the Halloween stuff being elbowed out by Christmas paraphernalia. Even Thanksgiving feels so over and we have not even celebrated it yet. Last night I actually caught myself examining some Valentine’s Day treat bags in the garage.

What lovely children came to our door on Halloween this year even though there were not so many of them as usual. Personally, aside from my own childhood fun, I am not a big fan of Halloween. As a parent who had no sewing or crafting skills and no money for store costumes, Halloween was fraught with the possibility of all kinds of parental failure. All I had to hear was: “What should I beeeeeeeeeeeee?” and I began to panic. And then, even when all the costuming was sorted, too often there was the battle and disappointment of having to cover up the adorable results with coats on a cold or rainy Halloween night.

One year my middle daughter had chicken pox or measles or some childhood disease when Halloween came around. I told the oldest that she needed to carry an extra bag to collect candy for her sister. “I’ll look greedy,” Liz wailed This may or may not have been the same Halloween the girls went out with their dad and Kim had fixed herself up as an eccentric old woman. Just as they were about to leave, with all the drama she could muster (and she could really muster it), she begged to wear MY glasses to complete her costume.

My real glasses! These were the little gold rimmed ones of the 70s and the only ones I had. True, I was wearing those viciously uncomfortable hard contact lenses of the day most of the time, but coming home from work and taking them out to don my glasses was the high point of some days. I resisted mightily with many speeches involving what financial disaster would be involved if she lost them, but finally caved in the face of her sweet urgency.

Of course, they were lost in the leaves and the dark of the long country road where we had once all lived and where they had gone to solicit treats with their father. To his credit, they searched and searched to no avail. Sigh. Kaching.

In my adult life, I can recall going to only one costume party. My second husband Roy really got into the opportunity and dedicated himself to recreating Dr. Who of the BBC science fiction series. Not only did he have me perm his hair, but he assembled the whole outfit, including the trademark miles long knit scarf worn by the fourth incarnation of Dr. Who (1974-1981), Tom Baker.

But what happened to Dr. Who?

The final blow of Roy’s obsession with portraying Dr. Who fell as we were getting ready for the party, when I unexpectedly met Roy as he came out of the bathroom with his beard and mustache shaved off. I was reeling! I had never before seen his bare face and was not sure I liked it. I went to the party as one of Dr. Who’s female assistants (who each had her own cult following) and who, let’s face it, always were the ones to figure things out and save the day. Never heard of Dr. Who? Count your blessings!

So, farewell, Halloween 2013. Considering past adventures, it was a pretty mellow day. At least I got to practice my excellent and quite scary witch’s cackle. No child was harmed by it this year.

Mary Martin

4 Responses

Oh Mary! You have made me laugh again – particularly with your very last sentence! I am with you regarding Halloween. My mother was not clever or crafty and sadly neither am I. Coming up with costumes for my children was always a chore. I myself prefer funny costumes to the scary ones. I do a half hearted job of decorating and this year just did autumn decorations rather than Halloween specific. I am glad it is over.

Oh I love Halloween! It’s my favorite time of year. I’m thinking of keeping the decorations up until it’s time to decorate for Christmas…
Although my kitten Arti keeps molesting one of my witches.
Thanksgiving has become a pain for me. What’s with all the eating?!

My parents went to a party as Raggedy Ann and Andy when I was a toddler and my dad shaved his beard and mustache. I was very upset at this impostor. There wasn’t a beard hanging in the bathroom either, just a bunch of tiny hairs.

Love your comment, ann. Wow, having your parents turn into Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy – is that trauma or what? I am now reminded of the wedding of a friend of friend in which everyone dressed in costume – yes, the bride and groom, too. I must check with my “girls” at Thanksgiving and see if this story is related to one of them.

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